to the ends of the earth
by edisonwinger
Summary: [ set post season 6 ] Annie's gone to DC for an internship, and Jeff can't stop thinking about her. One spontaneous flight later, and they have a lot of talking to do.
1. Chapter 1

**author's note:** I guess I miss Community already? Takes place post s6, so yes, spoilers ahead.

* * *

It had only been a week.

Jeff Winger truly never realized how much he needed Annie Edison in his life, until that lone week had gone by.

Of course, it wasn't the first time they'd been apart for this long; the group saw each other when they could over each summer break, but there were always times when he _didn't_ see her.

But back then it didn't bother him so much. Back then, they were just a study group; just a group of friends, hanging out.

It had been so much harder since he realized how he truly felt, and harder still since that kiss.

 _That kiss._

He was still reeling from it. Jeff Winger, despite ever claiming otherwise, was totally, completely 100% a love struck teenager when it came to Annie freaking Edison.

Of course, she was totally right when she told him that he needed to accept that he'd older – and, in the end, he realized all she said was completely true. But when it came to her? He was very much not an adult.

He was pining over, and he knew it. He was freaking pining over a girl, like he's twelve years old, or something.

But, this was Annie, and it was different. It was totally different. Annie…was different. She had changed him, shaped him, molded him into this better person; she'd taught him things about himself he never thought could be true. Annie Edison, with her Disney eyes and ridiculous purple pens…he'd been a goner for so long.

But by this point, well, it's different.

Jeff had accepted that he needed to let her go; that she had her whole future planned out, and he couldn't be the one to hold her back. He knew this was an amazing opportunity, and he refused to be the one to stand in the way of her, and her dreams. He hadn't told her every thing that he felt, because he didn't want her to have any second thoughts.

God, he cared so much about her, he couldn't even been a selfish jerk anymore.

Instead, he'd been replaced by this lonely guy, who stared at his phone once too often, and replied to her texts a little too quickly.

Time spent at the bar with the other was cool, sure, but it wasn't the same. He felt lost. The original group was gone, done, disbanded. There was only him and Britta left in Greendale, and Jeff found himself thinking bitterly on that particular fact once too often.

It had only been a week, but he knew he needed to make a move. And quickly.

* * *

What if she'd met someone? What if there was some cute, young guy interning with her at the FBI? What if that kiss had meant nothing? Jeff wasn't exactly sure when he'd gotten so paranoid, but he was certainly freaking out, as he made his way towards baggage claim.

In the three and a half hours it'd taken, to fly from Denver to Washington DC, he'd allowed his mind to wander; sometimes towards the more positive side of things (his fantasy had seriously fleshed out somewhere along the way; Sebastian now had a younger sister, Ariel – there totally was NOT a theme going on in his brain, not at all – and Annie was a super, badass FBI agent. All was well in that particular fantasy), and occasionally, towards the negative side.

What if she thought he was crazy? Had she not said something about regretting that kiss for a week? What if she seriously meant it? Maybe she'd just stopped regretting it, and now had moved on. Did she even have feelings for him anymore?

Jeff's heart seemed to lurch up into his throat, as he grabbed his bag and practically jogged out of the airport, into the big wide world of Washington DC.

* * *

It had been a week, and Annie Edison wasn't sure how to feel.

True to her word, she hadn't allowed Jeff to hold her back; when she was actually at her internship, she barely even thought about it. She didn't allow herself to get distracted from her dreams by a guy, but the rest of the time? Well, there was a reason she tended to text him constantly when she was by herself in her hotel room.

There were two things she could not get out of her head: their kiss in the study room, and that brief, very tiny kiss that had been shared as he was helping her get her bags out of the trunk of his car at the airport.

It had been awhile since she'd realized how she felt for Jeff, and when it became apparent that he had feelings for her too? She wanted to act on it, she really did, but…she had her whole life ahead of her. The timing was off; she couldn't commit herself to Jeff and then disappear for a whole summer in DC. So, she didn't. She kissed him, and she left him with that, but she knew nothing could be done about it until she got back after the summer. And if he happened to move on by then, then that would be okay too; she would survive it.

Today was one of the hardest days; one of the days where she wasn't interning, and had nothing to do aside from explore the city. But, it wasn't the same by herself. She'd made brief plans to meet one of the other interns for lunch, but it wasn't like they were all hanging out all day, every day.

She kind of wished Jeff was there. Or Abed. Or Britta. Just – somebody. Anybody.

Reaching into her pocket to her cell phone, she was surprised to see three missed calls from Jeff and one text.

 _Where R U?_

Odd. Very odd. Obviously he knew she was in DC, why did he need anything more specific? She typed up a quick response; a quick and confused response, complete with several emojis and an army of question marks.

But, all she could do once that was done was sigh a little bit. It wasn't like they were close by anymore; it wasn't like she could call him and ask if he wanted to hang out. He was back in Greendale, getting on with his life, and she was here, just starting hers.

It had been the right thing to do. She loved the internship with all her heart, it was just the days off that she didn't love quite so much. It was nothing to do with the city, nor the people, or anything in between, it was just knowing that at the end of the day, the closest she was to the group were the few texts sent back and forth.

Before the study group, Annie hadn't had anybody. It wasn't exactly a secret that she'd been a friendless loser, with a mother who pushed her too hard. The study group were the first people to truly care about _her_ , and perhaps that was why she felt so lost on her own. This was the first time, since she was 18, that she didn't have anybody to rely on.

Maybe studying was the answer. Perhaps she needed to simply go back to her hotel room, and read over Forensics books until she couldn't see straight anymore; studying and taking notes usually helped her to feel better, what could be different about today?

Something stopped her in her tracks.

No, not something. Someone.

He was standing in front of her, grinning, and she almost wanted to throw herself at him.

Had Jeff Winger seriously just flown all the way out just to see her?

With her heart hammering against her ribcage, she took a step forward, eyes wide and confused.

"Jeff..?"

"Hi."

"What are you…"

"Doing here? I couldn't take it anymore, Annie. The sitting around, the waiting. It's been a week, and I'm several bottles of scotch down, but that's – that's not the point. I missed you. I didn't know what to do, and I knew I couldn't ask you to come back to Greendale, because this is your future and it's so, so important. You're so important. But, I needed to see you. To spend time with you. So I guess I…came here, for you. Is that okay?"

Her arms wrapped around him in a tight hug, and that was all the confirmation he needed. It wasn't exactly the passionate greeting he'd been hoping for, but hey, he could work with it.


	2. Chapter 2

Despite her initial excitement, the next few minutes were filled with silent confusion.

What was he doing here?

Annie seemed to stare at Jeff for a long time, uncertain as to what the best move to make was. Outright ask him if he was trying to change her mind? This internship was all she'd ever wanted, and she thought he understood that. Wasn't he eager for her to do this? Hadn't he let her go, because he realized he couldn't hold her back, no matter how much he wanted to?

Her mouth moved, but no sounds came out of it. Instead, she could only grin.

It wasn't like she was in another country, but it still baffled her that he'd flown all this way for her. Sometimes, she thought she understood Jeff's feelings for her; she thought she got it…then he did something else that floored her, and she couldn't quite grasp how he felt.

Why couldn't he just tell her? Why did he have to keep holding back?

What she didn't realize, was that he was doing it all for her.

How could he open up to her about everything, at a time like this? She'd held back too; she hadn't told him everything she felt, because she couldn't allow herself to give her all to him, when she was about to leave for the summer. And he wasn't selfish anymore, he knew that he couldn't tell her everything he felt; he knew that he couldn't admit just what she meant to him, because then she wouldn't leave. If he told her about Borchert's Lab; if he told her that loved her, and that he needed to be with her…he refused to hold Annie Edison back from her dream. Because, how could she possibly be Annie, if she wasn't driven? If she wasn't striving to be the best she could be?

"Look, before you say anything, I know damn well I shouldn't be here. I don't want to hold you back, Annie. And, that's why I let you go in the first place. You're Annie Edison; you're driven, you care, and you're going to be president someday. I refuse to be the one who stops that; I refuse to hold you back, and make you stay behind. But – what do I have back there? I have you, and you're not…you're not there anymore. I refuse to hold you _back_ , Annie, but I would be very much okay with being at your _side_."

And just like that, she was almost in tears in the middle of a crowded DC street.

* * *

When she'd grabbed his hand in silence, Jeff had been confused. Had he said the wrong thing? Had he fucked it up somehow, without meaning to? The last thing he wanted was to come all this way, and ruin things all over again.

But, then he found himself standing in the elevator, in some hotel and he was…anxious. Why the hell were they going up to a hotel room? For only a brief moment, his thoughts turned suggestive, but then she was pulling him into the room she was currently staying in, and looking up at him with those wide, inquisitive eyes.

"I've been avoiding you all year, Jeff. At first, it was because I thought you were in love with Britta – you were engaged to her, and then in Borchert's Lab…I thought you looked at her, and opened the door. But then I talked to Abed," She chewed lightly on her lip at that; she didn't want to drop her friend in it. But, Jeff didn't appear to want to kill him or anything. That was a good start. "He said it was me. You looked at me, and you…knew. And I realized, at Garrett's wedding, that _I'd_ loved _you_ along. I was talking to Frankie, and it just hit me. This piece of information I'd been trying to hide, even from myself."

Her deep blue eyes met with his softer blue ones, and she found herself caught in them, for only a moment. All her words got lost on the back of her tongue, and a stupid grin curved up her lips again. He'd really come all this way just for her, and she couldn't get over it. Nobody had ever loved her this much before. Ever.

"I realized…that I'd been avoiding you all year, because I was scared. Because I was scared of what this meant, of what came next. Because I loved you, and you loved me, and neither of us wanted to say anything. We kept putting it off, and then – then it occurred to me. I had this interview coming up, and if I got it, I'd be gone for the summer. How could I disappear, if I'd just convinced you that getting together was the right thing to do?"

He nodded. Jeff understood exactly what she meant; they'd both been so scared of hurting the other, that they'd put off the inevitable for…well, years in his case.

"But, it's just three months, Jeff. I can't stay at Greendale forever, but it's home. You guys are my home. I'm not ready to leave just yet, but I needed this internship, you know? I knew you'd regret not kissing me if I left, but I would have regretted it even more. It was something to hold onto; and god, I've been holding onto it! I love the internship, but the rest of this week has been…so lonely."

Finally, Annie stopped her constant rambling, and realized he was smiling at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off, slowly taking hold of her hand.

"Annie…this week has **sucked**. Seriously. I don't know how I never realized you'd gotten so deep into my head – and my heart – before. I haven't known what to do with myself! There's been…a lot of scotch, and a lot of moping. But then I realized, what am I doing? I can just go to DC. I know it's nuts, and I should have called you first, but I wanted –"

This time, when _she_ cut _him_ off, it wasn't with her words. Instead, it was with the softest lips he'd ever felt in his life.

She tasted of coffee, of subtle lip gloss, of _Annie_.

Jeff was smiling when they both pulled back; it hadn't been in any way deep or passionate, yet he was breathless. It had been _meaningful_ , like that final kiss in the study room.

"You know what's weird? We went five years without kissing once, and yet now it's only been a week, and I can't help feeling like…I missed that," He chuckled softly to himself, meeting her gaze once again.

"So…I had a question for you…"


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** So. Much. Fluff. Here. Reviews are appreciated!

* * *

Several different scenarios filtered through her head, but this wasn't the Dreamatorium – there was no point in dreaming up scenarios, and figuring out the possible outcomes. Realistically, all she could do was wait for him to finish.

Her gaze was imploring, and she was simply waiting for him to continue, to finish, and throw his question her way.

She was imagining something along the lines of 'what happens now?' or something - anything - that involved a lot of thought. He wanted answers; he wanted to know where they stood now that he'd flown across several states to be by her side. Jeff had let her go, which in itself had been a huge act of love – but then he'd chosen to follow her, too. She owed him a lot, didn't she? Jeff wouldn't let her compromise her dreams to be with him, but he'd sure as hell leave his life in Greendale behind to be with her. It was overwhelming, realizing how much things had changed over the years. The Annie who cornered Jeff in the men's room five whole years previously had never quite expected _this_.

"Do you want to go to dinner? Tonight. With me."

It caught her off guard. Nothing that had filtered through her head had been quite that…simple. She was expecting loaded questions; questions that she couldn't give answers to straight away. Honestly, she thought that this time, she'd be the one leaving Jeff in the dark, unable to give him a straight answer.

Instead, she grinned.

"I think I can do that."

* * *

As he looked in the mirror, in her en suite, something finally hit Jeff. He'd been punishing himself for a while now; he'd been drinking a little too much, and beating himself up inwardly, because he couldn't stand to be alone. But, he shouldn't have been taking things out on himself, because he didn't hate the man he'd become.

He wasn't a selfish, jaded asshole anymore. He cared. And, surprisingly, that was so much better.

When Jeff headed out of the bathroom, he found himself whistling in surprise.

"Holy crap, Annie."

He still wasn't quite sure what they were; what this was that they were doing, but it was taking a lot of effort not to close the space between them and kiss her. He resisted, however, although the space between them was closed. Instead of moving his mouth, his large fingers curled around her tiny wrist, and he tugged her towards him.

Jeff's free hand moved to Annie's hip, while she settled for balling her hand up on his chest. Both parties were breathing heavily, not making a move towards each other. This was not a kissing moment; this was merely a moment to bask in each other. He was there, he was really there, and she was so _overwhelmed_ with love.

Annie had grown up from the girl she used to be. She was no longer in love with the idea of being in love, no longer obsessed with being with someone, or someone having feelings for…but she was in love with Jeff, that much was clear. The internship had always been there in the back of her mind, and she'd known better than to commit to him; she didn't want to lose out, by putting her dreams on hold for him, nor did she want to crush him, by allowing them to become something, only to follow it up by leaving.

Maybe it seemed like he was the one doing all the caring; like he'd let her go out of love, and she'd left because she didn't feel the same, but it wasn't that way at all. Her actions were out of love too: she couldn't bring herself to crush his heart anymore than she already was by leaving.

But, this way? Well, as long as he wasn't missing out on anything back in Greendale while he was there, Annie couldn't exactly find a downside.

"You look beautiful," It wasn't exactly the first time he'd noticed, nor was it the first time his breath got caught in his throat because he was so busy staring at her. But, it still felt like an important thing to tell her. Slowly, he withdrew his hand from her hip, and offered his arm instead.

"Milady."

"Milord."

* * *

It didn't exactly feel like a date, but perhaps that was because she didn't have a very good experience with those. It wouldn't exactly be a stretch to say that her best date had been accompanying Vaughn to a hackysack game, after all.

This wasn't like one of the few dates she'd been on while at Greendale. There was no pressure, no awkwardness, and no chance that he was going to dislike her. The beauty of having known each other for six years already, was knowing that they weren't starting at the beginning. Neither one of them had to feel weird about it – because, Jeff? Jeff wasn't exactly a date expert either. He didn't do this; didn't do dating. Flirting, winning a woman over, getting laid? That had been easy…but he hadn't even done _that_ in over four years. He could be as smooth as he wanted to be, but his end goal was not to get Annie Edison into bed.

The real end goal? Well, he didn't exactly have one. He just wanted this to go _well_. He was such a sap these days.

"I'll have a Macallan. Neat. And an appletini," Annie looked seriously surprised when she heard Jeff ask for one of the fruity drinks without a hint of dismay or irony.

He feigned looking unimpressed when he handed it over, but he was smiling widely once again, by the time they made it over to their table.

* * *

They were both smiling when they left the restaurant. Without even thinking about, Annie reached out and slipped her into his, making their fingers intertwine. Jeff may not have opened his mouth to speak, but his smile slowly spread out into a wide grin.

This whole being in DC thing? He was definitely going to enjoy it while it lasted.


End file.
